Historic Amsterdam church engulfed in flames over New Year's

A fire engulfed a historic church in Amsterdam over the New Year, according to local media.

Eyewitness footage filmed over Wednesday (December 31) and Thursday (January 1) from a nearby residential area showed the steeple of Vondelkerk, a heritage church near Vondelpark engulfed by flames and smoke.

Authorities evacuated dozens of nearby homes due to a shower of burning debris, local media NOS reported. 

Reuters was able to verify the location and date of the video from original file metadata from the source.

The buildings, road layout, business signages and spire of the church matched file imagery of the area. Reuters could not independently verify what caused the fire.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, and the cause of the blaze remains under investigation, according to NOS.

Production: Daniel Lim, Vinaya K, Gabriel Goh